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Assembly Member warns of “major chaos” as Welsh Government delays curriculum reform

The Welsh Government has today announced that a major reform of the schools curriculum in Wales will be introduced a year later than originally plan.

In December, Darren Millar AM, Welsh Conservative Shadow Education Secretary, called on the Welsh Government to “push the pause button” on these changes after a disastrous set of PISA results, and following doubts over its efficacy expressed by Scotland’s Education Minister.

Mr Millar welcome the delay but predicted “major chaos” if teachers will be expected to teach two separate curriculums at the same time.

He said: “Since the last round of disastrous international test results, we have been calling for a pause and review of the roll out of the Welsh Government’s curriculum reforms, so I am glad the Cabinet Secretary has at last heeded this advice.

“The extra 12 months to prepare for these major changes will be welcomed by schools and I encourage the Welsh Government to use this time to engage with teachers so that they are fully abreast of the transitions afoot.

“My major concern, however, is that under these plans two curriculums will be running side by side for a period of around six years.

“This has the potential to cause major chaos for teachers who are essentially being asked to juggle the demands of two syllabuses, and so Welsh Government will need to explain how it intends to manage this so that learning is not adversely affected.”